Ynteth Leklath: The Vardok Religion
A note on religions in Esk: Religions in Esk are viewed very differently than they are on earth. With the overt presence of the Winds and of Imtelor, the "pantheon" if you will is universal. There is very little disagreement about cosmology, at least among the major mainstream religions. Most of the controversy is over philosophical questions, such as the meaning of life. The supremacy of Imtelor is agreed upon, but there are many teaching of the Winds which seem to contradict each other. Each species tends to view its creator Wind as the most correct. 'Ynteth Leklath' The Leklans are primarily Vardoks. They follow the teachings of Malka and hold that the purpose of life, and the way to improve the self, is to learn. The official title of the religion, which was given by Imtelor, literally means "to pray to learn." "Pray" can also be translated as seek. The titles of the religions were uniformly given by Imtelor as a way to show his approval of them all and that they create a balance. Beliefs Leklans believe that knowledge is the greatest good and that all morality flows from having a correct understanding of the word. Because of this, they will often allow actions which most would consider to be immoral so long as the action is with the intent of gaining some piece of knowledge or understanding. Their motivation for moral action is largely consequentialist. "If I steal my friend's papaya, he will be angry with me. Therefore, I should not steal it." However, the Leklan belief is very forgiving, and teaches that mistakes are learning opportunities, not failures. Those who are immoral are believed to be so because they are too stupid to realize the consequences of their actions. Leklans approach their criminals with either frustrated disdain or else with a compassionate attempt to help them rise above their insufficiency. Teachers and scientists are highly revered, just as they are in the larger Vardok culture. Leklan priests almost never limit their study to religion, but are often also experts in multiple sciences or historical periods. Symbols There are a number of symbols and items which hold religious significance to Vardoks. Libraries are revered as sacred spaces and books, no matter the subject, are revered similarly. Because of this mentality, there are no "sacred scriptures" for Leklans, although there are numerous writings on religion. The closest thing to scripture that exists would be "The Questions of Malka" supposedly recorded by Gon Rie. The book is unique in that it only contains questions, questions that Malka supposedly asked of Gon Rie during a period of extended meditation. The books has spawned countless discourses and feuds over what the answers to the questions are. They range from simple logic puzzles to more intricate questions, an example being: "A child rises by questioning. When a child questions, he is answered or he is not. When a child is answered, he stops questioning. When a child is not answered, he holds to his questions but asks no more, expecting no reply. How, then, can a child rise?" -- The Seventy-Second Question of Malka Denominations The watershed issues in Ynteth Leklath are how to learn and why learning is necessary. There is a split between those who believe that once a lesson is learnt it is no longer necessary to follow and those who believe that known knowledge must always be followed. For example, one Leklan may say that once he has learned stealing is wrong, he may steal in order to learn other things. The value of new knowledge outweighs whatever ill effect his crime create because he is still aware of the sacred truth that stealing is wrong. All the benefit of knowing is simply and only in knowing. Other Leklans would say that the true value in knowledge is in its application. The Vardok who steals, despite claiming to know that it is wrong, is blind. If he truly knew that stealing was wrong, he would not steal and such virtues are learnt more deeply by living them out. Category:Religions